A court here on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of AAP legislator Surinder Singh who was booked for beating an on-duty New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) employee.
Additional sessions judge Reetesh Singh dismissed the bail application of the Aam Aadmi Party legislator who allegedly assaulted the NDMC employee on August 4 for clearing footpaths illegally occupied by hawkers.
On the complaint of NDMC sanitary inspector R.J. Meena, police lodged a case against Surinder Singh last week and booked him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The court, while denying him bail, observed that a prima facie case under the SC/ST Act was made out against the accused as the words alleged to have been used fell within the category of verbal abuse as per law.
The court also noted that the words used by the legislator was an insult to the Scheduled Castes and they were uttered in public.
It also observed that the facts of the case, which stated that the worker was part of the NDMC team and belongs to a Scheduled Caste.
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Delhi Police, opposing the bail plea, told the court that anticipatory bail was barred under the special legislation of the SC/ST Act.
Legislator Singh, while seeking anticipatory bail, told the court that he was falsely implicated in the case and alleged that the complaint was registered for harassing and humiliating him.
The incident dates back to August 4 when the legislator intervened during a routine checking drive by NDMC in Tughlaq Road area of New Delhi.
Police said fourth-grade NDMC employee Mukesh was allegedly beaten up by the legislator when Mukesh along with an official team was trying to clear the footpath occupied by hawkers.
Police said the legislator also allegedly made derogatory remarks against NDMC employees, saying they took bribes from hawkers to allow them to run businesses on roadsides or on footpaths.